Leo of The Nation and Fenian poet

THE Rising of the Moon was one of the great ballads about 1798.
The work of John Keegan Casey, writing under the pen name Leo, it became very popular in the lead-up to the attempted Fenian Rising in 1867. Casey wrote over 80 poems, not just about rebellion but of his locality and its people and is said to have written The Rising of the Moon when he was just 15 years of age.
Even though he is mostly associated with Ballymahon, County Longford he was born in  Milltown in Westmeath in 1846. His father, Luke, was a native of the area and was the local teacher. In the early 1850s, the family moved to Gurteen, just outside Ballymahon in Longford where Luke became principal of the local school. Both of his sisters became teachers and John worked as a monitor (A monitor was usually an older student who assisted in the teaching duties).
As a young man, Luke Casey was active in the Tithe Wars. This was the agitation by Catholics against having to contribute to the support of the established Church. He also had a great love for his country, which his son inherited. This led young John to become involved with the Fenian movement and he often hired the local hall for what he described as religious purposes but which was a cover for his Fenian meetings. 
He tired of teaching and moved to Castlerea in Roscommon where he worked as a commercial traveller, while having his poems published in different periodicals. The popularity of his poetry, especially The Rising of the Moon, led him to leave Roscommon and move to Dublin. He worked as a clerk but also became fully immersed in the Fenian Brotherhood. While in Dublin, he started to contribute to  the Young Irelander  newspaper, The Nation, where he started to use the pen name Leo. He was just one of a long line of nationalist writers whose work first appeared in the paper. The popularity of his poetry opened up other opportunities for him and he was also published in America.
His talents were not just confined to writing and he became an important public speaker at  political rallies all over the country. He also travelled as far as London, Birmingham and Liverpool to speak about the Fenian cause.
When the attempted Fenian Rising of 1867 collapsed he, with many others, was arrested and imprisoned in Mountjoy. He was held for eight months during which time he was badly mistreated and malnourished, so much so, that when he died later, an inquiry was held when the prison doctor publicised the extent of his injuries.
This was the time when many Fenians were deported and Casey was released on condition that he emigrate and never return to Ireland. Casey ignored the order and, disguised as a Quaker named Harrison, he lived the last years of his life in Cork Street in Dublin. He continued as before publishing and travelling the country addressing meetings.
The treatment he had received in Mountjoy  took its toll and he died within two years of his release.
John Keegan Casey, Leo of The Nation and poet of the Fenian movement, died on St Patrick’s Day in 1870, 141 years ago this week.